The week before New Home Baptist Church’s First Responder Day, Lanny Lewis’ hay bales caught on fire.
“He was on a piece of farm equipment, and something sparked,” said Phillip Dendy, associate pastor at New Home Baptist in Pisgah. “He called the volunteer fire department, and they responded and were able to minimize the damage. It was a miracle, because they only lost about five bales — he had 200 of them stacked side by side.”
The very next week, Lewis was able to share that story during the church’s Sunday service, and “the ladies and gentlemen were there and we were able to recognize them for something that happened less than two miles from the church,” Dendy said.
The event — which honors the community’s past and present first responders — was the church’s third annual First Responders Day.
Dendy said it’s “a good way for us to recognize police officers, firefighters, all those who put their lives on the line for us every day.”
He said it’s grown every year, and they’ve had instances where first responders have come and ended up staying, joining the church, getting plugged in and seeing their children come to faith too.
“We have story after story of how that has happened,” Dendy said.
Share with others: